ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has received a supplemental grant from the National Cancer Institute to ensure that all cancer patients who use tobacco have access to treatment for their tobacco use. The two-year, $500,000 grant, part of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Moonshot initiative, will fund programs at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center that will expand tobacco cessation treatment services for cancer patients.

“This grant will help us increase assistance to cancer patients who use tobacco by providing evidence-based tobacco cessation support,” says Thulasee Jose, M.D. a research fellow working on the project. “We want to make sure that tobacco use treatment is an integral part of cancer care at the Mayo Clinic. Quitting can increase the chances of successful treatment and decrease the chance of cancer recurrence.”

The program for cancer patients will draw on the expertise of the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center. The center was one of the first in the country to focus exclusively on treatments for tobacco dependence. The center’s model of care has become the standard in many health care facilities across the U.S. The center's treatment team offers patient support in developing the motivation and skills required to stop using tobacco.

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About Mayo Clinic Cancer Center
As a leading institution funded by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center conducts basic, clinical and population science research, translating discoveries into improved methods for prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. For information on cancer clinical trials, call the Clinical Trials Referral Office at 1-855-776-0015 (toll-free).